Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Having just completed crossover, we are officially halfway through Session. During the first half of the session, both chambers consider the bills filed by their respective members. Crossover is the date by which all Senate bills must be acted on and the Senate decides whether to pass them or not. We heard just under 1,000 bills in the past five weeks.

After crossover, we will be considering bills filed by delegates that won approval in the House. Although delegates filed more than 1,600 bills this session, the Senate won’t have to consider nearly that many during the second half of session. The House will have winnowed down its bills, approving only a fraction of the ones submitted by delegates.

Last week, I was honored to join the Speaker of the House Kirk Cox, Governor Northam and House Courts Chair Rob Bell in announcing an historic criminal justice compromise effort that achieved the dual goals of further protecting victims of crime with enhanced restitution and doing the right thing by raising the felony threshold for larceny. Our felony threshold for larceny has been at $200 for almost 40 years. This compromise, raised the threshold to $500. It is the right thing to do. Stealing is a crime that should and will be punished, but we are overdue in adjusting the level at which someone might be sent to prison for more than a year. On the restitution front, victims of crime don’t have lobbying firms advocating on their behalf. By ensuring they will receive the restitution they deserve, including the millions collected that have gone unclaimed, we’re standing up for their interests. I’m proud to be the Senate patron of the two restitution bills which upon passage, will be signed into law by the Governor.

The major focus of Session thus far has been health care. The Governor has proposed a massive expansion of the Medicaid program envisioned by ObamaCare to cover an ever expanding group of able bodied Virginians. My Republican Senate colleagues and I have been working tirelessly on a package of reforms designed to address the skyrocketing insurance premiums and to provide coverage options to many working Virginians who are being priced out of the health insurance market as a result of ObamaCare.

The Medicaid Program was never intended to be - and never designed to be- a substitute for health insurance. It is instead, a reimbursement program for hospitals and health care providers to mitigate the costs associated with providing care for the most vulnerable (children, disabled, indigent.) Our existing Medicaid program still has severe limitations, many of which were detailed in the JLARC December 2016 report which you can read here. There are clearly those who would like to see a single payer government funded Medicaid style health plan provide universal health coverage for everyone. This approach, while well intentioned, is misguided and will inevitably lead to the rationing of health care seen in Canada and elsewhere.

The Senate Republicans have focused on restoring options and competition to the private health care and health insurance marketplace. Yesterday the Senate passed groundbreaking legislation as part of our Health Care Package to focus on the 80% of Virginians who are dealing with exorbitant premiums and staggering out-of-pocket expenses and to help those most in-need, including those waiting on ID/DD waivers. The package consists of four bills that will increase competition, lower premiums, provide lower costs for services, increase funding for mental health and opioid/addiction treatment, and make catastrophic care coverage available to more Virginians. SB 964, SB 935, SB 915 and SB844 accomplish these goals. I hope it will be the pleasure of the House to pass these critical initiatives and that Governor Northam will sign them into law.

In moving forward, Senate Republicans want to institute more reforms to Medicaid to include: a workforce requirement for eligible able-bodied individuals, personal responsibility measures such as participation in a Health Savings Account, and tying funding to performance-based review to ensure funds being spent and truly improving the quality of life for those in the program. The ultimate goal, however, should be to move more Medicaid recipients into the work force, self sufficiency, and into the private sector health care marketplace.

Since all Senate bills have been acted upon, that means some of my bills are advancing onto the House. SB 521, dealing with mandatory investigations of registered voters in localities where there are more registered voters than voting age individuals, was passed unanimously from the Senate. SB 523, deals with electronic pollbooks. This bill requires that the Department of Motor Vehicles share their database of photographs with registrars so that registered voters have a picture in their file. If they do have a photograph on file, they would not be required to present a form of identification.

Interstate 81 improvements in the Shenandoah Valley have been long overlooked. My bill, SB971, directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board to study I-81 improvements and to consider what revenue could be raised from potential tolls on heavy trucks to fund these improvements along this corridor. Almost half of statewide truck traffic runs along this interstate and about a fifth of crashes involve a heavy truck. With over 2,000 crashes per year, and 30 crashes a year with a clearance time greater than six hours, we must be willing to look at creative methods to find substantive solutions to this problem.

Finally, SB 568, will require public institutions in Virginia to share student loan information with students in order to help spread continued awareness of the potential consequences of overborrowing. Student debt is rampant both here in the Commonwealth and nationally. I believe that we as state legislators have a duty to help inform our students of the financial impact their borrowing decisions will have on their futures. Included in the yearly report that institutions will send will be amount borrowed, interest rate, estimated monthly payment and total amount paid by the end of the payment period.

To see the full list of the bills I am carrying this session, click here.

These past few weeks, we’ve had lots of visitors stopping by our offices in Room E502 of the Pocahontas Building. It was great to welcome the following visitors/organizations: Rise for Youth, students from JMU and EMU along with members of the Virginia Interfaith Council, Copper Fox Distillery, Harrisonburg/Rockingham County Chamber CEO, Blue Ridge Community College President Dr. Downey and students, JMU representatives, Rockingham Co. Board of Supervisors & County Administrator, Warren County Board of Supervisors and County Administrator, representatives from Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative & Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, and VAIL (Valley Associates for Independent Living).

We have four more weeks of session. I always enjoy hearing from citizens in my district on issues that are important to you. Feel free to email me at mark@markobenshain.com or call our General Assembly office at 804-698-7526.

Best regards,

Mark Obenshain

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Saturday, February 10, 2018

Happy weekend! We hope you have some time to recharge before the start of a new week. We're making it easy to catch up on all of the top actions from the last week, with our latest #5Actions round up! As always, please forward and share with family and friends, too!

BACKGROUND: Back in 1993 two HUGE things happened. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law and the movie Jurassic Park broke box office records. Now, 25 years later Jurassic Park will see its second reboot--with new and improved dinosaurs and modernized special effects! But our UNPAID national family and medical leave laws are stuck in 1993 and haven’t evolved to meet the needs of contemporary working families! → Tell Congress, our family and medical leave laws need a reboot too. We need PAID family and medical leave so all people can care for their families without fear of losing their job or damaging their family's finances.

BACKGROUND: We have a real threat on our hands! Congressional Republicans held their Republican Retreat last week to set their 2018 agenda and talked about making scary changes to key programs that boost our economy and help struggling families provide vital healthcare and nutrition. 40.6 million people currently live in poverty and many of them depend on assistance programs like Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or food stamps) in order to make ends meet. Without these life-saving programs, moms, children, and families will suffer. We won’t stand by silently while cuts and changes are made to programs like Medicaid and SNAP, putting our families and economy at risk. **Sign our letter to Congress now telling them to protect the healthcare and nutrition programs that boost our families and our economy!

BACKGROUND: Right on the heels of passing the largest, most unpopular tax scam in decades, Republicans are now pivoting to take away health care, nutrition assistance, and affordable housing that we, and our economy, desperately need. How? They are trying to restrict important programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance when families aren’t working or in training – even if they are sick, caring for young children or for family members who have disabilities or are ill, or dealing with a family crisis. **Sign our letter calling on President Trump and the U.S. Congress to protect the health care, nutrition, and housing our families and economy need in order to thrive.

BACKGROUND: The struggle is real when it comes to finding high-quality, affordable early learning opportunities for our little ones. Childcare and pre-K costs are sky high—in fact, in 30 states and the District of Columbia, infant care costs exceed the average cost of college tuition. This is why we are inspired, thrilled, excited, and overall relieved that three leaders in Congress,are taking a stand to address these issues by introducing the Child Care for Working Families Act. This legislation will address our nation-wide early care crisis by lowering childcare costs for low-income and middle-income families, support universal pre-K programs for all 3 and 4 year-olds, and significantly improve compensation and training for the childcare workforce to ensure that our nation’s teachers and caregivers have the support they need. **Sign our letter NOW encouraging your members of Congress to create a brighter future for our littlest learners, workforce, and economy by supporting the Child Care for Working Families Act.

5.Don't Forget to Pre-Order MomsRising's Resistance Book about Women, For Women, and To Women!BACKGROUND: In his first State of the Union address to the nation, Donald Trump didn't even utter the word “women” once. NOT ONCE. That's why MomsRising is so excited to announce a new book about women, for women, and to women, covering our top issues, advocacy tactics, and stories from all of us: Keep Marching. Authored by MomsRising President and Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, 100 percent of the book proceeds will go to fuel MomsRising's work. Scheduled to come out in May by Hachette Books, Keep Marching has already been named one of the 2018 key books of “resistance” in the New York Times. This highly researched looks at the barriers women face every day, including stories from people like you and me, solutions and action plans to break through & a call for all bad-ass women for justice to come together and rise. (*Remember: 100% of proceeds go to MomsRising so it's a two-for-one. You get to support MomsRising AND get a book). Pre-order it now!

Friday, February 2, 2018

Happy February! 2018 is in full swing, with family, work, kids, community commitments, and more accelerating to full speed. Phew!

Now more than ever, we can't take a break from speaking out about issues that matter to our families and communities. This week's #5Actions line up includes hot topics like maintaining government funding for essential programs like healthcare, immigration, childcare and more. And it includes a special opportunity to get inspired, too, by pre-ordering our co-founder Kristin's *sparkling new book* about the power of women during this revolutionary time (and 100% of proceeds go to MomsRising so it's a two-for-one. You can support MomsRising AND get a book.). Consider it part inspiration, part guidebook.

Get your weekend off on a strong foot. Make sure you've completed the #5Actions list of the week. And shared it with friends and family, too!

1. Tell the GOP Leadership: Do your job!!BREAKING NEWS: Republicans in the U.S. Congress decided they would rather shut down our government than make a deal that would provide stable funding for health insurance for children and protect DREAMers, immigrant young adults who have grown up in the U.S.! After weeks of congressional negotiations, endless useless tweets from President Trump, and a “he said-he said” about racist comments in the Oval Office, Republican leadership still couldn’t do their most basic job of keeping the government running and passing policies that protect the health and well-being of their constituents. *Sign our letter!

2. Urge Congress to Support High-Quality, Affordable Childcare!BACKGROUND: Nearly two-thirds of mothers with children under age six work, and families with a working mom spend nearly twice as much on childcare as they did 30 years ago. In fact, the average family spends anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000 a year depending on where they live and the ages of their children. Yet we know that investments in early education boosts moms, kids, and our economy. Making that investment starts now! Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Elizabeth Warren (MA) have introduced a spending bill that would increase the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to $2.9 billion, giving states needed resources to expand child care assistance to nearly 230,000 additional children. It would also provide sufficient funds for states to implement bipartisan rules to improve the health, safety and quality of child care. Sign our letter to the U.S. Congress NOW telling them to make federal investments in high-quality, affordable childcare.

3.Pre-Order MomsRising's Resistance Book about Women, For Women, and To Women!BACKGROUND: In his first State of the Union address to the nation, Donald Trump didn't even utter the word “women” once. NOT ONCE. That's why MomsRising is so excited to announce a new book about women, for women, and to women, covering our top issues, advocacy tactics, and stories from all of us: Keep Marching. Authored by MomsRising President and Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, 100 percent of the book proceeds will go to fuel MomsRising's work. Scheduled to come out in May by Hachette Books, Keep Marching has already been named one of the 2018 key books of “resistance” in the New York Times. This highly researched looks at the barriers women face every day, including stories from people like you and me, solutions and action plans to break through & a call for all bad-ass women for justice to come together and rise. (*Remember: 100% of proceeds go to MomsRising so it's a two-for-one. You get to support MomsRising AND get a book). Pre-order it now!

4. Tell Congress to Pass the DREAM Act and Move Forward Fair and Comprehensive Immigration Policy ReformBACKGROUND: Time has run out for DREAMers, and with the March 5th end date of DACA fast approaching, legislation needed to be passed months ago so it has time to be implemented before all 800,000 DREAMers lose their legal status. Time is of the essence. A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators put forward a popular solution to give DREAMers legal status for the Senate to consider as they negotiated the 2018 budget, but that solution was ignored by GOP leadership. So yet again our legislators failed our young adults. They passed another short term budget, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), but failed to take action to protect DREAMers from losing the legal status that allows them to continue studying and working in the communities they have grown up in. It’s appalling.*Tell Congress to live up to the promises made to DREAMers by passing the DREAM Act, and move forward fair and comprehensive immigration policy reform. Join us to speak out!

5. Make Some Noise (Online) for Paid Leave!BACKGROUND: Monday, February 5 is the 25th Anniversary of President Bill Clinton signing the historic Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) into law. MomsRising | MamásConPoder and many of our partners will use this occasion to call attention to the work that still needs to be done for paid leave and highlight the elements of a strong paid leave program that are needed to advance the law’s promise. Help us make some noise for #FMLA25 and #PaidLeave on Twitter and beyond! Join us for the #FMLA25 Tweet Storm on Monday, 2/5 at 1pm ET / 10 am PT, and please promote this digital day of action.